Year 9 students wear protective face masks
(Picture: REUTERS)The number of children off school in London due to Covid has dropped to the lowest level since November.
It means London now has the lowest percentage of pupils absent due to the virus in the country, according to a regional breakdown of attendance.
The data shows a marked change from just three months ago when London had the highest rate in the country in the run-up to Christmas.
Nationally, Covid-related absence fell below one per cent for the first time this academic year, with 0.7 per cent — 58,000 children — not attending due to the virus.
The national figures from the Department for Education are a snapshot of attendance on March 3 and the regional figures relate to February 10.
Geoff Barton, general secretary of the Association of School and College Leaders, said: “It does seem from these latest figures that life is returning to something approaching normal in our schools.”
In London on February 10, 1.6 per cent of pupils were absent from school due to the virus, which together with the North West is the lowest rate in the country. The South West had the highest figure at 3.1 per cent.
